Massive setback for TN Minister Senthil Balaji as Madras High Court ...

In a massive setback to Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, the Madras High Court on Friday upheld his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case and his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court, reported PTI.

Senthil, who continues to be a minister in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet without a portfolio, was arrested on June 14 by the central probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with cash-for-jobs scam in the state’s transport department that surfaced in 2015.

The arrest was made after nearly 18 hours of interrogation and searches at his official residence as well as chamber of the State Secretariat. Following his arrest, he was hospitalised after he complained of chest pain.

Justice C V Karthikeyan, who was named as a third judge to hear the Habeas Corpus petition (HCP) of Senthil Balaji’s wife Megala, following a split verdict delivered by a Division Bench on July 4, fully concurred with the conclusions arrived at by Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy.

Justice Karthikeyan directed the Registry to place the matter before Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala to refer it before the same division bench to determine the date on which the ED could take custody of Senthil Balaji and to shift him from the hospital.

Megala in her plea alleged that her husband was in the ED’s “illegal custody” and asked the authorities to produce him before the court and set him at liberty.

In the split verdict, Justice Nisha Banu said that the ED has no power to take the custody of Senthil, and that the duration of treatment in hospital undergone by Senthil Balaji cannot be excluded from the remand period, while Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy held contrary views.

In his order, Justice Karthikeyan said according to the complainant, he had given Rs 2.40 lakh (in connection with securing a job in a state-run transport corporation). This was the specific offence of bribery for which an FIR was filed and following that the ED had registered the Enforcement Case Information Report. Subsequently, he was arrested in the cash-for-jobs case.

Justice Karthikeyan said, however, the questions relating to when the money was given, “where it went and how it was legally converted” required further investigation.

The judge said in the instant case that on the day when the custody was granted by the sessions judge, the medical condition of Senthil Balaji was bad. This dissuaded the ED from taking effective custody. Therefore, the period of hospitalisation has to be excluded from the period of custody, the judge added.

The charges against Senthil Balaji pertain to his tenure as Transport Minister between 2011 and 2015, during the AIADMK regime. It was taken up by the ED after the DMK came into power in the state.